Meghan Markle has wiped her Archewell website clean of anything referenced to her animated series ‘Pearl’ that was formerly in development at Netflix. The streaming platform scrapped plans to move forward with the show earlier this month after seeing a major drop in subscribers.
The Archewell Productions section of Meghan’s website once contained a note from the Duchess of Cambridge describing her excitement to partner with Netflix for the creation of ‘Pearl’.
Meghan Markle Removes All ‘Pearl’ References From Website After Series Was Axed By Netflix
“Like many girls her age, our heroine Pearl is on a journey of self-discovery as she tries to overcome life’s daily challenges. I’m thrilled that Archewell Productions, partnered with the powerhouse platform of Netflix and these incredible producers, will together bring you this new animated series, which celebrates extraordinary women throughout history,” a since-deleted summary once said.
In place of ‘Pearl,’ the Archewell website is now promoting a docu-series titled ‘Heart of Invictus’ that follows several competitors during the Invictus Games. This is currently listed as Markle’s only active television project.
The ‘Pearl’ animated series was supposed to be centered around a 12-year old girl’s exploration of ‘achieving women throughout history’ and the main character was said to be inspired by a young Markle. The Duchess of Cambridge promised the show would “weave together fantasy and history” while Pearl discovered new ways to “overcome life’s daily challenges.”
The cancellation of ‘Pearl’ was a huge blow to Markle who prided herself on being the creative vision behind the project. She was set to serve as executive producer on the series along with Elton John’s husband David Furnish.
Prince Harry discussed the dire need to generate a substantial income during a March 2021 interview. “My family literally cut me off financially, and I had to afford security for us.I was cut off] in the first quarter of 2020,” explained the royal.
Harry also talked about the idea of partnering with a streaming service as a way to gain financial independence. “During COVID, the suggestion by a friend was, ‘What about streamers?’ … We hadn’t thought about it. So, there were all sorts of different options. And look, from my perspective, all I needed was enough money to be able to pay for security to keep my family safe,” he said.
Despite the cancellation of ‘Pearl,” Meghan Markle and Prince Harry still have a lucrative $100 million deal with Netflix to produce more content through Archewell Productions. While they inked the deal in 2020, they have yet to produce any actual content for the platform as of yet.
Netflix’s decision to scrap ‘Pearl’ came after a series of cutbacks after seeing a decrease in revenue. With a market that is now saturated with plenty of streaming options, Netflix has faced uncertainty about its future as a top streaming service. As a result, Netflix has laid off a number of employees and has further plans to reduce spending in a bid to salvage the business.
